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TIL that in 2000, Robert Mugabe, then president of Zimbabwe, won the 1st prize jackpot in a national lottery organized by a government owned bank.

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lon7A TIL Fedex nearly went bankrupt in its early days - its founder took the company's last $5000 to Las Vegas and won enough money through blackjack to cover their $24000 fuel bill.
m1Rjy TIL that when a Samurai acquired a new Katana or learned a new move they would sometimes proceed to test it on a random pedestrian, it's called Tsujigiri
e0476 TIL of Alcock & Brown, the first aviators to fly across the Atlantic non-stop. Despite the cloud only lifting three times during their journey, Brown had managed to navigate them to within 20 miles of their original target destination using just a sextant and calculus.
Me9Xm TIL that Groucho Marx and T.S.Eliot were fond penpals but hadn't met because life got in the way. When they did at last meet for dinner at Eliot's house, it didn't go well. All that Groucho wanted to talk about was Shakespeare and The Wasteland. But T.S. Eliot wanted to hear about Duck Soup.
9YKgG TIL that one of the most famous viking symbol and the most recognizable, the Valknut, isn't called like that and actually doesn't have any known name.